Automatic crossing-gate.



PA-TBKTED JUNE 4, 1907. R. D.'PAGE.' AUTOMATIC CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION .EILED 00T.17, 190s.

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No. 855,660. I PATENTED JUNE 4, 1907.

R. D. PAGE. AUTOMATIC CROSSING GATE. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 17, 1906.

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RICHARD D. PAGE, OF HOWARD CITY, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC CROSSING-GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed October 17,1906. Serial No- 389,386-

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD D. PAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Howard City, in the county of Montcalm and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Crossing Gates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railway crossing gates, and the object of my invention is to provide a device of this character which will be simple in its actuation and operation and which will be automatic in both.

Broadly my invention consists in a gate operating mechanism which is actuated to lower and raise the gate by means of car actuated trips disposed at a suitable distance on both sides of the crossing. The trips operate in an identical manner to pull cables leading to the gate mechanism which swings the gate arm down. There is also provided a third trip which is opposite the crossing and which is depressed by the passing train to release the gate and permit it to raise or swing back to its vertical position. I also provide means for rendering the first mentioned trips inoperative so that a train having passed the crossing and raised the gate will not again lower said gate on striking the farther trip.

Having described my invention broadly I will now describe the operation and arrangement of parts, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a crossing showing the application of the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the gate operating mechanism; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional elevations of the means whereby the gate operating mechanism is actuated; Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line 66 of Fig. 4.

In referring to the figures I will first describe one of the trips which operates to pull down the gate, it being understood that both of these trips, one in one direction and one in the other direction from the crossing, operate and are constructed alike except that they are reversed to pull oppositely.

The trip comprises a false rail 1, which is supported adjacent the outside of the track rail 2, by means of the braces 3 spiked or bolted to the ties. The false rail 1, is normally held above the track rail 2 by means of coiled springs 4 attached to the base of rail 2 and operating in recesses 5 in the under face of rail 1. The false rail 1 is adapted to be freely depressed by the wheels of the passing train and to be raised by the springs 4, it being slidably mounted between a guide-plate 6 bolted to the braces 3 on the outside of said false rail, and a plate 7 bolted to the track rail 2. The connecting bolts used have their heads countersunk in said plates to provide a smooth bearing surface to the sides of said false rail.

8 is a housing securely fastened to the ends of the ties outside the false rail.

9 is a bell crank lever mounted on a shaft 10, mounted in the housing 8, the crank arm 1 1 of said lever having a lateral bend ll extending into and operating in a longitudinal slot 12 in the false rail 1 adjacent the beveled end 20 of said rail. The vertical arm 13 of lever 9 is adapted to operate in a notch 14 in one end of a latch bar 15 to pull the said latch bar forward when the end 20 of the rail is depressed. The latch bar 15 is connected at its other end to an oscillating lever 16 mounted on shaft 17 within the housing 8, and to this end of latch bar 15 is also connected one end of the operating cable 25, said cable 25 extending along the track rail 2 and connected at its other end to the gate operating mechanism as hereinafter described. 18 is a bell crank lever, mounted in a housing 18 the crank arm 19 having a lateral extension 19 which extends into and operates in a longitudinal slot 21 in the rail 1 adjacent the other beveled end 22. The vertical arm 23 of the lever 18 is connected by means of a cable to the vertical arm 24 of a latch lifting lever 26 mounted on a shaft 27 in housing 8, the latch lifting arm 26 of said lever being disposed beneath the latch bar 15.

From the above it will be seen that when a train approaches and depresses the end 20 of the rail 1, the arm 11 of lever 9 will be depressed pulling the latch bar 15 forward and thereby pulling upon cable 25 to draw down the safety gate. In the same manner a train having passed the crossing and approaching and depressing end 22 of rail 1. will depress the arm 19.0f lever 18 thus, by means of the cable connection, pulling the arm 24 of the latch lifting lever 26 backward and raising the latch bar 15 from the lever arm 1 1 to prevent any action of the gate mechanism when the end 20 of the false rail is depressed.

28 is a false rail located at the crossing and operated by trains passing in either direction to pull the cable 30 by means of the hell crank lever 29 mounted on a shaft within a housing and operated by a slot 31 in the false rail in the same manner as the bell cranks previously described except that cable 30 is directly connected to the vertical arm of lever 29 and the latch bar and latch raising levers are omitted as they are not needed.

The cables from one gate lowering rail and 32 from the other gate lowering rail are connected by a suitable bell-crank mechanism 33 to a cable 36 leading to the gate mechanism to pull down the gate whenever either of the false rails pull cables 25 or 327 The cable from false rail 28 is connected in a similar manner to a cable 40, leading to and connected with the gate operating mechanism, whereby when a train approaching from either direction has lowered the gate, the said train upon striking false rail 28 at the crossing will pull cable 30 forward thus pulling down upon cable 40 to permit the gate to rise or swing back to its normal or vertical position.

Having described what I term the actuating portions of my invention I will now describe the gate operating mechanism. 41 represents the housing for said mechanism supported at a suitable distance from the ground by means of the frame 42.

43 is a swinging gate arm having secured thereto ropes 44 and a lantern 45 to be lighted as a signal by night. The gate arm 43 is provided with a U-shaped extension 46 the arms of which are mounted on the outer ends of a shaft 47 rotatably mounted in the housing 41 and having secured thereon, within said housing, a sector gear 48.

49 is a shaft mounted in the lower portion of housing 41, on which is loosely mounted a gear 50. Shaft 49 also carries a loosely mounted drum 52 having wound thereon a rope or cable holding the weight 53, below the housing 41. Drum 52 is provided with a ratchet face 54, and the gear carries a pawl 55 spring-pressed against the ratchet 54 whereby the gear 50 is driven when the drum is rotated. An intermediate shaft 56 carries gears 57 and 58, the former meshing with gear 50 and the latter with gear 59 on a shaft 60 above shaft 56. Shaft 60 also carries a cam lug 61 and a gear wheel 62 having a stripped portion 63 thereon.

64 is a latch bar pivotally mounted on shaft 65 and having its notched upper end engaging the cam lug 61 to hold the gears station ary when the gate arm 43 is in a vertical position. WVhen the arm is in this position the stripped portion'63 of gear 62 will be held facing sector-gear 48 on shaft 47. v

66 is a bell crank lever having the cable 36 attached to its horizontal arm and a spring pressed finger 51 pivoted on the other arm.

To throw the gate arm 43 to ahorizontal position, the cable 36 is pulled which throws the spring finger 51 of the bell crank lever 66 against the lower portion of latch bar 64 lifting said latch from the cam lug 61. The gears will thus be freed from restraint and weight 53 will drop transmitting power to gear 62. Gear 62 set in motion will make one revolution when it will be again held by latch bar 64. In this revolution of gear 62 the teeth of said gear will engage the teeth of sector-gear 48 and thus the gate arm 43 will be forced to a horizontal position.

The sector-gear 48 is provided with a lug 67 adapted to be engaged by a spring pressed latch lever 68, when the gate arm has been drawn to a horizontal position. To the horizontal arm 69 of the latch-lever 68 is con nected the cable 40 actuated by the false rail 28.

70 are weights on the ends of the U-shaped extension 46 of the gate, and the weights 70 are heavy enough to swing the gate arm 43 to a vertical position although the combined weight of the arm 43 and weight 53 will swing said arm to the horizontal position. To re turn the gate arm to its normal or vertical position the cable 40 is pulled down by the depression of rail 28, thus drawing latchbar 68 off the lug 67 and the sector-gear being neXt the stripped portion of gear 62 and thereby out of mesh with said gear, the weights 70 will raise said arm to a vertical position, and the mechanism is ready to be again operated. The cable holding weight 53 is re-wound when necessary upon drum 52 by a handle or other suitable means.

I claim '1. In a device of the character described, a swinging gate, mechanism for automatically raising and lowering said gate, false rails disposed at a suitable distance on both sides of said gate, said false rails being disposed outside the track rails and normally held slightly above said track rails by means of coil springs, cable connections between said false rails and said gate mechanism, a latch bar connected at one end to said. cable, a bell crank lever having its vertical arm engaging said latch bar and having its crank portion Working in a longitudinal slot within said false rail whereby when said false rail is depressed by an approaching train the said latch bar will pull said cable, and actuate said mechanism tolower said gate, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described, a swinging gate, mechanism for automatically raising and lowering said gate, false rails disposed at a suitable distance on both sides of said gate, said false rails being disposed outside the track rails, and normally held against and. slightly above said track rails by means of coil springs, cable connections between said false rails and said gate mechanism, a latch bar connected at one end to said cable, a bell crank lever having its vertical arm engaging said latch bar and having its crank portion working in a longitudinal slot adjacent one end of said false rail, a bell crank lever working in a longitudinal slot adjacent the other end of said rail, and a latch lifting lever connected thereto, whereby when the train is leaving the gate said lever will lift said latch bar to prevent the lowering of the gate, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the character described, a gate operating mechanism, comprising a housing, a gate arm mounted on the outer ends of a rotatable shaft in the upper portion of said housing, a half gear mounted on said rotatable shaft, a power shaft in the lower portion of said housing carrying a gear, a drum loosely mounted on the power-shaft a rope having a weight attached thereto, car ried by said drum, a shaft provided with a cam lug and geared to the power shaft, a latch lever mounted in said housing and engaging said lug to lock said arm in the vertical position, means for raising said latch, a gear on said locking shaft adapted to engage said half gear to move said arm to a horizontal position, means for locking said arm in the horizontal position, and means for releasing and drawing said arm back to the vertical position, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the character described, a gate operating mechanism, comprising a housing, a gate arm mounted on the outer ends of a rotatable shaft in the upper portion of said housing, a half gear mounted on said rotatable shaft, a power shaft in the lower portion of said housing carrying a gear, a drum loosely mounted on the power shaft, a rope having a weight attached thereto, carried by said drum, a shaft provided with a cam lug and geared to the power shaft, a latch lever mounted in said housing and engaging said lug to lock said arm in the vertical position, means for raising said latch, a gear on said locking shaft adapted to engage said half gear to move said arm to a horizontal position, a lug carried by said half gear,a spring pressed latch lever adapted to engage said lug to lock said arm in the horizontalposition, means for releasing said latch lever and weights carried by the lower ends of said gate arm adapted to move said arm to the vertical position when so released, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD D. PAGE. WVitnesses:

CHARLES W. WITHEY, WM. J. WOODALL. 

